A Texas woman was sentenced to more than five years in federal prison Friday for orchestrating a scheme to steal over $2.7 million in U.S. Treasury funds, utilizing a fraudulent identity and a bank account opened under false pretenses in Naples, Florida.
Kristin Cara Kunstler, 43, of Amarillo, Texas, received a 61-month sentence from U.S. District Judge Kyle C. Dudek, following a guilty plea entered on October 23, 2025, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The court as well ordered Kunstler to forfeit $2,797,083, representing the full amount of the stolen funds.
Court documents reveal that Kunstler initiated the theft on January 2, 2025, by depositing a U.S. Treasury check made payable to the victim. She fraudulently identified herself as the victim and opened a bank account in the victim’s name at a Naples branch. Using the victim’s personal information – including name, date of birth, and driver’s license number – Kunstler gained access to the account without the victim’s knowledge or consent. She was the sole authorized signatory on the account.
By February 19, 2025, Kunstler had withdrawn at least $1.5 million from the illicitly obtained funds, using the money for her own benefit and that of an accomplice.
The case originated in the Middle District of Florida, but was transferred for prosecution. Initial legal proceedings began on June 27, 2025, with the appointment of a federal public defender, Felipe Zavala, to represent Kunstler. An initial appearance was scheduled for June 30, 2025, in Amarillo, Texas, before Magistrate Judge Lee Ann Reno, according to records from PACERMonitor.
Prior to the Florida scheme, Kunstler was implicated in similar fraudulent activities in Texas and Minnesota, and was also accused of stealing $438,000 from a bank in Utah in May 2024, using a fake ID to obtain a cashier’s check.
